The ISU wrestling team this season was built on youth. With only three seniors in the 10-man lineup, younger wrestlers have been forced to step up for the third-ranked Cyclones.

Sophomore Trent Paulson, a Council Bluffs native, has performed for the Cyclones in a big way. After finishing 29-7 in 2003-04 during his first year of competition, Trent made the move from 149 pounds to 157.

“I feel really strong at 157, and at 149, I just felt like, ‘Oh man, I have to make weight again after this match,'” Paulson said.

After winning the 149-pound title at the Midlands Championships and being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, Trent finished third at the Big 12 championships and did not place or garner All-American honors at the national tournament.

“At 157, I can concentrate on wrestling and getting better. At 149, I just wanted the season to be over,” Paulson said.

Since making the move to 157 pounds, Trent has been dominant, defeating five ranked wrestlers on his way to a 27-1 regular season record.

“[My record] is definitely a confidence builder,” Paulson said. “The one loss out of the 28 matches was to the defending champion and No. 1 guy. It makes me feel like I can beat anybody.”

That loss was a 5-0 decision to Matt Gentry of Stanford.

“He’s always here [in the wrestling room],” 125-pounder Grant Nakamura said. “He’s always one of the last ones to leave. He’s always working on his shots, stretching or working on something else in here.”

Paulson said it’s the extra work and preparation that have allowed him to be successful.

“I think I’ve been more aggressive on my feet this year compared to last year,” Paulson said. “I think I’m in a lot better shape because I do the extra sprints after practice and I do the drills that Coach [Bobby] Douglas tells me to concentrate on.”

In a sport where goals are an important part of motivation, Paulson said he’s kept his goals simple.

“National champion,” Paulson said. “That’s it. I have a good record, but that’s not what I’ve been concentrating on. I’ve been concentrating on peaking at the right time and winning a title.”

With the national tournament quickly approaching, Paulson will have an opportunity to attain his goal. He said he’s set his sights high and that the true journey of this season is just beginning.

“I’m ready to be tested,” Trent said. “[The national tournament] measures how far you’ve come, and I’m ready to see if the goals I set and the work I’ve put in were the correct things to do to do what I want to accomplish.”

Trent said his ability to constantly train and put in extra work is a product of having the same training partner since elementary school. Twin brother Travis, the 165-pounder for the Cyclones, and Trent have worked symbiotically for the past 15 years to make each other better.”Sometimes when I’m in the room and feeling sluggish, [Travis] will get on me and make me work harder,” Trent said. “When he wrestles me, he gets really physical and pisses me off to make me go harder.”

Both Paulsons said their competitive natures were put to good use through wrestling when they were young kids.

“We were ornery little kids,” Trent said. “My mom got us into wrestling because we used to fight in the house all day and she wanted us to focus the energy somewhere else.”

Travis said he and Trent had so much energy and were so wild that teachers used to tell his parents to get them help.

“We used to beat the crap out of each other,” he said. “Teachers used to tell our parents to put us on Ritalin.”